10TV was told that 1/3 of the school’s students do not go to school by bus regularly.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Staff and parents Summit Academy schools in Columbus are demanding answers after seven weeks of bus problems.
10TV was told that 1/3 of the school’s students do not go to school by bus regularly.
Roseanne Smith has two children who attend the school. She said her eighth-grader’s bus did not come to pick her up Thursday morning.
“Transportation is the first necessity, so being on the edge of the first necessity adds stress on top of what we’re already dealing with,” Smith said.
School officials said they get the buses through Columbus City Schools. Cheryl Elliott, the school’s principal, said the school has about 120 students. They need two buses for morning pickup and afternoon pickup.
She told 10TV on Thursday that only one bus brought students to school in the morning and no bus showed up to take students home.
“It’s frustrating,” said Shauna Blake, a mother of three girls who attend the school and rely on the bus.
She said her children missed several days of school because they didn’t have a field trip, including Thursday.
“Every day that they’re here is very important and crucial … and they’re not getting that,” Blake said. “The biggest fear is that students won’t be able to get the education that their parents want from Summit Academy,” Blake said.
A spokesperson for CCS told 10TV that the Department of Transportation is working to resolve all issues that have been brought to their attention. They said the district is still dealing with a shortage of bus drivers, and bus routes are constantly being reviewed.
When the department knows they won’t have a bus driver for the route, the team starts notifying schools in the first half of the day.
Elliott did say they were notified before they knew the bus wouldn’t be coming.
Still, the parents we spoke to want a solution and worry that their children aren’t getting the education they deserve.
CCS said they still need 162 bus drivers and are looking to fill them during the month-long Bus Driver Career Fair, which starts on October 10.
https://www.10tv.com/article/news/local/summit-academy-schools-struggling-busing-routes/530-de8126f3-395d-469a-afc6-0efa37119131